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Just weeks before the midterm elections, nearly 20 Democrats in the House have proposed raising taxes on firearms and ammunition, hoping to tie some of the firearms-related taxes to inflation.
The Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Localities Act by Illinois Democrat Rep. Danny Davis and 21 other House Democrats raises the federal excise tax on all firearms and ammunition. It will also increase taxes on firearm importers, manufacturers and distributors, and on individuals or entities that transfer ownership of most firearms.
Democrats said the bill was modeled after a federal tobacco tax that generated revenue to fund programs aimed at reducing tobacco use. The gun tax bill would raise as much as $38 million a year and channel that money into the new Gun Violence Prevention Trust Fund.
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The fund will use the proceeds for “community-based violence prevention grants, gun violence research, hate crime prevention and enforcement, and training forensic examiners.”
“None of the current federal excise tax on guns and ammunition is spent on preventing gun violence,” Davis said. “The Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act will increase existing gun and ammunition taxes by a meager 0.5 percent, he said, to create a guaranteed annual fund to stop gun violence, so it’s a comprehensive gun violence law. It’s an important part of prevention.”
Under current law, the federal excise tax on pistols and revolvers is 10%, but the Democratic bill would raise it to 10.5%. Excise duty on other firearms and ammunition is 11%, increased to 11.5%.
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Under current law, firearms importers and manufacturers must pay taxes of $500 or $1,000 annually, depending on the size of their business. Under the Democratic bill, that amount would be adjusted for inflation annually, as would a $200 transfer tax that must be paid at the time the firearm is sold.
The bill is the latest sign Democrats believe gun control is a winning agenda for them as the midterm elections approach. In late August, President Joe Biden said he was “determined to ban assault weapons in this country,” and some Democrats believed that access to guns was behind the rise in gun violence. I started a campaign with this in mind.
“It’s time to ban these,” Biden said. “It’s time to ban these weapons. We’ve done it before and we can do it again.”
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Republicans deny these allegations, saying Democrats backed soft sentences and the “defend the police” movement encouraged criminals. Republicans say weakening Americans’ Second Amendment rights will only undermine efforts to curb violence.
At Saturday’s Texas Tribune Festival, Texas Republican Sent Cruz said a man with a gun stopped another and was interrupted by a heckler during a 2017 shooting at a Texas church. I told the story that I cried out that violence is useless. Please don’t stop the violence. “It’s really the only thing,” Cruz replied.